Wall sign



March 19, 19 40. M. H. SEMPLE WALL 5 IGN Filed June 13, 1939 Fig.5

F1 Gr. 5

INVENTOR. MOIYTAGUE H, \SEMPLE,

.AGEEN'IZ Patented Mar. 19, 1940 v UNITED. STATES PATENT "OFFICE Y 2,194,172 WALL SIGN Montague H. Semple, St. Albans, N. Y.

Application June 13, 1939, Serial No. 278,878

'7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in signs of the class having cutout lettersassembled on bars.

A particular object of the invention is to provide economical, strong and attractive faced-bars for supporting letters thereon upon the walls of buildings, and especially for outdoor signs mounted above eye level.

A further object of the invention is to provide such bars of small and unobtrusive size with a thin brilliant metal facing. A special object is to provide such a facing that it simulates a solid metal bar in appearance as viewed from eye level by anyone reading the sign.

Another object is the provision of'a solid inexpensive but unfinished-looking core with a metal facing of such a form relative to that of the core that the facing is nowhere is contact with any metal mounting bracket or lime-containing wall material which would cause corrosionof the facing. I

An incidental object is the modification of the ends of such bars to preserve the illusion of a solid metal bar while at the same time utilizing a constructionwhich is inexpensive and readily made with a one-piece metal facing without other operations than shipping and bending.

Still another object is the facing of such a core with a thin metal facing, which is formed without waste from a ribbon by a simple and inexpensive process such as bending, and which is secured to such core by, e. g., nails instead of requiring the metal to be crimped around three sides and overlapping the back as heretofore. A related object is the securing of the letters to the bars by the same means which secures the facing to the core, to thus achieve the utmost simplicity and ease ofconstruction without in any way detracting from the attractiveness of the finished sign.

Another object is the provision of sign bars which may be used for several sizes of letters without change of form but simply by placing them in different relation to the observer.

A further object is to use the minimum amount of metal which will conceal the core from an observer and at the same time to place such weight sign which is easily shipped or erected. A

related object is the provision of such a sign which is formed of simple elements which are readily secured together.

Other features and advantages of the invention ,5 will be hereinafter described, and it is my intention to claim whatever features herein disclosed are novel and useful.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a sign located in .1 position on the wall of a building above the eye level of observers. Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view, partially broken away and with the wall, on which it is mounted, shown in section.

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation partially broken 15 away, showing a portion of a letter and the facing attached to the bar by a single nail, as well as the relative proportions of the. core and the facing. Fig 4 is a generally similar view which shows the attachment of the bar to the wall. 20 Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively front elevation and inverted plan of the lefthand end of a bar showing the shapeof the metal used in concealing the end of the core.

Referring to the drawing, the invention is shown (see Fig. 1) applied ina completely assembled sign on an outside wall Hi to which are secured two sign bars H, preferably by stainless steel screws l2, where the facing l3 of such bars is of the same material. This facing I3 ,is L- shaped in section and relatively thin, usually of the order of 0.015" in thickness. The cores ll of the sign bars are usually of waterand weather-proofed cypress wood. The cutout letters l5 are preferably of tempered hot-pressed wood 3 fiber with a matrix of resin and oil to ensure their durability. 'I'hese'letters are pierced by nails l6 which are preferably of stainless steel or other noncorrosive material. These materials are stated by way of example and I am 'not to be restricted to them, since other materials of like characteristics may be used under my invention. In Fig. 3, nail I6 is shown likewise piercing facing l3 and core M, being clinched on therear face of the sign bar to secure both the letter and the facing to the core thereof. In Fig. 4, screw l2 is shown securing a sign bar assemblage to the Wall.

I The sides of bar M are preferably slightly larger than those of the facing I3. The corners ,fi of the core are cut away, as by roundingthem as shown in Fig. 3, so that they are not visible from the viewpoint of one looking at the sign, from a position below and somewhat away from the wall, the normal position of an observer. This 55 construction provides a maximum of strength with the minimum use of metal facing. Since one side of the metal facing is always on the lower side of the bar, this is in tension and substantially reinforces the bar so that it carries the letters with a minimum of deflection. Further, by merely turning a rectangular bar which has unequal sides, it may be used with a narrow side exposed to the front for small letters or with a wide side to the front for large letters, the detail of the end being modified to take care of the direction. By the use of this L-shaped facing with one side vertical and the other horizontal, moisture drains freely so that freezing causes no damage, and the core and interface dry out quickly after a rain instead of allowing trapped water to cause rotting and decay of the core and deterioration and discoloration of the visible facing. The result is that the metal facing of bars made in accordance with this invention continues to shine for long periods. Since these signs are light and easily detachable and handled, they are ordinarily removed from the wall for the repainting of the letters, which can be done by unskilled labor without risk of defacing the wall surface, which is preferably of a contrasting color.

Referring to Figs. 5 and 6, to finish the ends to give the bar the appearance of a solid bar of metal, the end of the core is bevelled, a V-section is cut out of the bottom side of the facing to conform with the shape of the adjacent portion of the core, and an extending portion 13 of the strip forming the front facing is bent to snugly fit the end of the core and the overlap ping strip portion. [3" is then bent back against the rear face of the core to secure the facing tightly to the core.

The terms and expressions which I have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but recognize that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

I claim:

1. An assembled bar for a wall sign of the class having cut-out letters mounted on such bars which are attachable to a wall to be normally seen from the front comprising, in combination, a weatherproof core of inexpensive material such as wood and of uniform section with a flat side to rest against the wall and with a generally fiat front side, and a thin facing of durable and more ornamental but more expensive material such as stainless steel for substantially only the normally visible portion of the bar, said facing being formed to fit the core along at least the longitudinal matching edges and without overlapping such edges and to have an L-shaped rectangular section which generally fits against the front side of the core, whereby the matching portions of the core near said edges are strong.

2. An assembled bar for a wall sign of the class having cut-out letters mounted on such bars which are attachable to a wall to he normally seen from the front and from below comprising, in combination, a weatherproof core of inexpensive material such as wood and of uniformly substantially rectangular section with one fiat side to rest against the wall and with an opposite flat side toward the front, and a thin facing of durable and more ornamental material such as stainless steel for the front and bottom sides only which are the normally visible portions of the bar.

3. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which an end of the bar is bevelled back from the front and a V-piece snipped off from the bottom of the facing, with its apex at the front of the bevel, the extending front side of the facing bent back over the end of the core and against the rear face thereof, whereby the facing is secured to the core as regards longitudinal displacement relative thereto and conceals the end thereof.

4. An assembled bar for a wall sign of the class having cut-out letters mounted on such bars which are attachable in a generally horizontal position to a wall to be normally seen only from the front and from below comprising, in combination, a waterproof core of inexpensive material such as oil-impregnated wood and of uniformly rectangular section with one fiat side to rest against the wall and the opposite side toward the front, and a thin L-shaped facing of ornamental material such as stainless steel for the normally visible sides, at least one of the sides of which facing is only slightly narrower than the corresponding side of the core, whereby the facing apparently conceals the core when normally viewed and is effectively separated from the wall by the core.

5. The combination set forth in claim 4 in which the width of at least one of the sides of the core is enough greater than that of the corresponding side of the facing to substantially increase the strength of the bar and the corner of the otherwise visible long corner edge removed as by rounding so that the facing completely conceals the core when the sign is normally viewed.

6. A sign for attachment to a wall above eye level and comprising, in combination, cutout letters; a plurality of generally horizontal bars attachable to the wall and for supporting said letters in spaced relation to each other, at least one of said bars including a core of material such as wood and a thin facing for its front and lower sides which is formed without costly waste by bending from a ribbon of an ornamental material such as stainless steel; and noncorrosive slender metal connections which pierce and hold together letter, facing and core, said connections being clinched on the rear side of the core.

'7. A sign for attachment to a wall above eye level and comprising, in combination, cutout letters; and a plurality of generally horizontal bars attachable at least near their ends to the wall and supporting such letters between such points of attachment; at least one of said bars including a core of a material such as wood which reliably resists compression and is of substantially uniform section providing a generally flat front side for display and an adjacent bottom side having a width of from one-third of to three times that of the front side, and a thin facing of a material such as metal which is strong in ten sion and substantially fits said sides of the core whereby the facing is generally under tension to effectively reinforce the core in holding the weight of the letters and in holding them from being pulled away from the wall.

MONTAGUE H. SEMPLE. 

